


are you an alien

by MaRuX



Category: Tales of Symphonia
Genre: Character Study, Gen, Introspection, M/M, Secret Crush, Zelos thinks abt Lloyd a lot, also Sylvarrant def is not like Tethe'alla, also im ridiculously amused by my own title, and I haven't seen much of that explored neither in canon nor fandom so wtf, and he gets really attached to him fast, did u get the reference wink wonk, hint: it's a pick-up line
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-02
Updated: 2018-02-02
Packaged: 2019-03-12 19:34:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,105
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13554126
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MaRuX/pseuds/MaRuX
Summary: "Because you're out of this world. <3"Lloyd Irving was a rogue otherworldly anarchist and Zelos saw in him the potential for a new BFF.





	are you an alien

**Author's Note:**

> Idk man, every fandom I wanna write for starts with a character study, so here we go :U  
> Many thanks to Hallie for helping me do the final edit!

Their group leader was odd.

Actually, they all were. Which, in hindsight, probably wasn’t so surprising. They said they were from Sylvarrant, another world altogether if their tale was true. And that did seem to be the case, considering their appearance overall, all frayed coats and dusty boots, weapons worn from overuse. No decorations or flourishes for the sake of it, their hair windswept and unevenly cut, just enough to keep it out of the way. They weren’t what Zelos would normally call beautiful. Perhaps they had a different meaning for beauty in their own world. Perhaps beauty did not even matter to them as much.

And maybe that’s why the newcomers had hardly been in the mood to humor Zelos’ antics. They didn’t bat an eye at his good looks; the first time they saw him neither did his group of young beauties nor their sharp words seem to get through to them that they should put Zelos on a pedestal. He wasn’t their Chosen, after all. These strangers didn’t owe him any excessive politeness, not even a grudgingly given bow. They were quite abrasive in fact, in a way he hadn’t encountered. They had weary gazes -- battle-worn, Zelos realized, not unlike Sheena’s.

That was partly why Zelos wanted to keep an eye on them. But honestly, he had decided to join them the moment their leader turned his back on Sylvarrant - the moment when, presented with the consequences of their actions, the boy looked them in the eye and said, “All right, that’s fine”.

What the _fuck_.

And the others in their group seemed just as surprised as Zelos was. (Which, by the way, for him, time and space had lost their meaning for a while there.) He somehow managed to piece their words together among the static in his head, the implications stacking up almost too fast to keep track of.

These people were willingly, openly giving up on their entire world for the sake of their friend, to stop her from fulfilling her fate as the Chosen. World regeneration be damned, they sounded like they were planning to fight for her soul to the bitter end.

It was at some point after that that Zelos found himself butting in and inserting himself into their group. Because really, after hearing all that, how could he not? And then later on, somehow - amidst all the walking, talking, bantering, walking, (attempts at) bonding, running, strolling, fighting, getting lost and some more walking - Zelos noticed that the dirty pile of emotional laundry he kept close to his chest started squirming something fierce.

And like that first time, it seemed to happen most often when Lloyd would decide to do something reckless for the sake of someone else.

Cool beauty Raine and the brat turned out to be half elves? Lloyd said “So what?” The two got arrested and sent off to be executed? Fearless leader grabbed the rest of them by the hand and proceeded to jump off the world’s biggest bridge in an effort to catch up to them.

Basically, these guys from Sylvarrant were nuts. Including Lloyd. _Especially_ Lloyd. Because the guy seemed positively _hellbent_ on stepping on everyone’s toes as much as possible as he marched towards his goal. He had no qualms in lashing out, openly expressing his grievances towards anything (or anyone) he was annoyed with.

And naturally, due to Zelos’ own special way of expressing his dazzling charm and wit, he had become one such target very soon after he joined them. Mind you, he just said something about Colette’s smile (or lack thereof). Their leader though didn’t seem to appreciate the comment at all. Despite his big doe eyes and friendly grins, Lloyd couldn’t take a joke when the topic was a sore subject. (Zelos would quietly object, because in fact, that was precisely the best time to bring out one’s best jokes.)

And yet, the Chosen couldn’t bring himself to get too annoyed by that. He could hardly remember someone adressing him so frankly, someone who snapped at him and called him out like that. It was a novelty in itself that he couldn’t bring himself to turn away from.

The guy had no flourishes in him, no screens nor baulbes to distract from his flaws or his intentions. He was considerate; he traced a line in the sand, gave them all a mark of his personal boundaries for everyone to see. Then he promptly ploughed down anyone who dared try to cross it, and not even Zelos was enough of a masochist to keep trying to press _that_ big red button. And besides, there was really no point in antagonizing him. Why would he, when it was infinitely more rewarding to befriend him?

Lloyd Irving was a rogue otherworldly anarchist and Zelos saw in him the potential for a new BFF. Hell, he knew a one-in-a-lifetime show when he saw one; if he had to, Zelos was going to use every trick in the book if it meant getting the finest front row seats for it, and he would bring his gilded opera glasses too. He’d watch in rapture as his new companion fought tooth and nail and screamed himself raw with his sheer honesty and then ask for an encore.

He wanted to hear every inflection and the crack in his voice, wanted to taste the fire in Lloyd’s breath as he declared war on his enemies. He wanted to see him stomp into their lair with the single-minded intent of fighting his way back out and gutting it from the inside. And he wanted to witness all that again and again and again, until Zelos could replay them in his head through the coldest of nights. He would count the passage of time with the red-coated leader’s inflaming speeches split into syllables, into variables Zelos could calculate and measure, broken down elements that would make it all a little less dreary, a little more bearable for him in the long run.

It was actually kind of funny, in retrospect; because now, for the first time in his life, he knew exactly how the poor little starving child from the slums felt like as he stood outside in the cold, gazing longingly inside at a nobleman’s warm and bountiful dining room table.

And in spite of all odds or pre-established personal preferences, if Zelos hadn’t known any better, he would’ve thought he was falling in love with the guy.

Which was ridiculous. Impossible. Out of this world.

But that seemed to be the entire point when it came to Lloyd Irving, wasn’t it?

Well, shit.

**Author's Note:**

> I've been sitting on this for months... Finally, Dobby is free!


End file.
